Archive for the ‘Royal Oak Local’ Category

Previously held in Pontiac, A Favorite Summer Festival in Oakland County Michigan moved to downtown Royal Oak Michigan. It is a Labor Day weekend where everyone can celebrate Art, Music, Cuisine and Humanity. Held September 3-6, 2010 it is the 13th year for the Ford Arts, Beats & Eats. Presented by Citizens Bank, the festival offered more than 200 performances on ten stages, a highly ranked Juried Fine Arts Show, local restaurants with some of the finest cuisine in metro Detroit and international, regional and local attractions that always make the city of Royal Oak the premier destination for any event.

That is the general description of the event as promoted on the Arts, Beats & Eats website. The day I attended was Sunday and we parked at a friend’s home to avoid the parking and had to wait a while in line to pay admittance and get our wrist band. It was fun to see so much focus and attendance in Royal Oak, one of my favorite cities in Oakland County. I found the Eats pretty quickly – however getting from the middle of the road to either side to try any was like swimming upstream. While there was a record attendance, the crowds were almost unbearable in the main thoroughfare for “EATS”. We found a few of the stages for BEATS but I never found the “juried” ARTS. My favorite part of the day was a Ferris wheel ride to get a birds eye view of the crowds. We shared a cab/bucket with a father and daughter who were delightful. While I was there with my camcorder, it was fun to see the joy of the ride and festival through a child’s eyes.

While I would probably go again and happy to see the festival in Royal Oak, I hope next year it is stretched out a bit so that we can enjoy walking around the city and seeing all it has to offer and the full venue of the Arts, Beats & Eats festival. It was a great first effort and I would imagine that it will only get better.